


February Friends

by Nekuyo



Series: And Then What? [2]
Category: How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Genre: F/M, Some worldbuilding, Sort Of, a valentines fic, augustus maywho is a dick, grinch isn't the most supportive boyfriend, he tries though, luckily betty lou is there, martha is no longer a socialite, she has to find real friends
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-29
Updated: 2020-12-30
Packaged: 2021-03-10 20:00:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,015
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28402857
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nekuyo/pseuds/Nekuyo
Summary: Time for Martha to face the social fallout of choosing The Grinch.
Relationships: The Grinch/Martha May Whovier
Series: And Then What? [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2080200
Comments: 2
Kudos: 12





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Uuhhh.... well, you guys said you wanted more? 
> 
> This one is more about Martha than it is strictly about her relationship with Grinch. But it's got Valentine's Day in it, so there'll probably be a little something.

Martha May's life had changed quite dramatically in the last month. She wouldn't have quite called herself a social pariah, not until today perhaps. It hadn't really gotten that bad yet. But January hadn't been... exactly pleasant. 

It had started when she hadn't been invited to the New Year's party at the Mayor's Mansion. Understandable, she supposed, as she had publicly rejected his marriage proposal after he'd been publicly pining for her for years. Her being in attendance a mere five days after that would have been unbearably awkward, but it clearly set a precedent for the social calander of the season. 

She'd spent New Year's eve with Grinch of course. They'd had quite a lovely time, if a bit more.... chaste than she had been hoping for. He really was quite shy, despite his brazen attitude. Martha suspected that would take some time to overcome, much to her dismay. 

It was February now and Martha May hadn't been invited to any of the society parties that anyone wanted the Mayor to attend. Which was all of them, due to the political lobbying that usually occurred. 

Martha didn't care about that, exactly. What she cared about, were the letters she'd gotten today. Every single one an apology from people who had RSVP'd their attendance to her Valentine's Day party months ago, explaining how they suddenly couldn't attend. There were suddenly quite a lot of 'sick aunts' among the uppercrust of Whoville it seemed. 

She wasn't surprised, but it still stung. There was quite a long stretch of road between 'not actually the terrifying monster from the Mayor's smear campaign' to 'socially acceptable dating material' in the eyes of the Whoville social elite. Grinch was never going to fall into the latter category. Not when he was, as he pointed out to her not long ago, technically a completely different species. Nevermind his other... eccentricities.

Martha's Valentine's Day party had been one of the star events of the social season for the last fifteen years. Everybody who was anybody was always vying for an invitation. Now, it seemed, everyone who was anyone considered attendence would be the death knell of their own social status. 

Martha wondered, now that she didn't have to spend the next two weeks preparing a huge spectacle fit to outdo herself once again, what she was going to do with all her free time?


	2. Chapter 2

Betty Lou Who, as the mother of two twin teenage boys, and a somewhat precocious young daughter, liked to think she had a knack for telling when something was just a little.... off. 

So when she woke up that early February morning to relative quiet she could definitely tell something was a bit different than normal. It wasn't until she'd packed four lunches, sent the kids off to school, kissed Lou goodbye and sent him on his way, and started compiling her grocery list that she realized what it was. 

Martha May's house was awfully quiet for February 10th. 

Living next to Martha May Whovier was enough to make anyone feel a bit inadequate as a homemaker, even at the best of times. Betty Lou usually took heart in the fact that Martha didn't have any kids to clean up after or anyone else to take care of, so of course she invested all her time in making everything look immaculate. It actually struck Betty as a little sad when she looked at it like that. 

But there were a few times a year when it was impossible for Betty Lou to not feel envious of how magnificently elegant Martha May could truly make her home when she wanted to. Of course one was Christmas and the award winning light show that Betty Lou was still trying to overcome. But another time of year when the large house next door looked too good to be true was February 14th. Martha May's Valentine's Day party was something everyone in Whoville dreamed about seeing the inside of one day. All the papers covered it. Betty Lou often hired someone to clean the outside of her own house, just in case the paparazzi that photographed people going in caught it in the background. 

Martha May usually started getting ready for it at the end of January and didn't appear to sleep until after it was over. Betty Lou admired her dedication, even if she didn't quite understand it. 

So here it was, February 10th, and there wasn't a single work truck or delivery truck in sight outside? That was more than a little peculiar. 

Betty Lou stood up from her table and looked out the kitchen window. There wasn't any sort of commotion at all outside of Martha's house. Betty Lou frowned in concern. She hoped Martha was alright. Perhaps she should... go make sure?

Betty Lou and Martha May weren't really.... Well, the two of them weren't even really in the same social circle. They talked occasionally, being neighbors, but Martha was the daught of an important politician and Betty Lou was the wife of the senior postmaster. They wouldn't even be living in the same subdivision if Lou's family hadn't owned this house for three generations. 

But ever since last Christmas Martha and Betty's youngest, Cindy Lou, had formed something of a friendship based on their mutual fondness for a certain green fellow who lived atop Mt. Crumpitt. Martha May seemed to have quite a lot of free time in the last month to sit with Cindy Lou and discuss all sorts of things. It really was adorable to see the two of them sitting on Martha's front steps discussing things like the merits of recycling and new versus used furniture.

This, Betty Lou decided after a moment, was enough to give her plausible cause to pop over and see how Martha May was doing. After all, any friend of her daughter's was certainly part of the family. So it was up to Betty to make sure she was alright. 

Betty Lou got dressed, put on her coat, and strode out the door to pay Martha May a visit.


End file.
